Smoke Signal

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and in which to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. 

The weary man asked his rescuers:   "How did you know I was here?" They replied:   "We saw your smoke signal."  It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we shouldn't lose heart, because there is still hope, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, the next time your little hut is burning to the ground -- it just may be the smoke signal that is going to save you.

Gift

A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning  of his graduation his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and  told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible. Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said, "With all your money you give  me  a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book. 

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had   not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things. When he arrived at  his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears,  he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he read those words, a car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Bible. It  had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports  car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words...PAID IN FULL. How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not packaged as we expected?

I Am Your Attitude

I am seldom considered, though I do more to influence everything about you than virtually any one thing in your life.  I often control the time you get up in the morning, the time you go to sleep, what you eat and drink and the very thought that runs through your head.  I can make you either happy or sad, loving or hateful, cheerful or remorseful, congenial or spiteful and in doing so, control the very capacity that you have for success. No, you don’t often think of me instead you BLAME the problem I create on the shortcoming of others, or the state of the economy, or your family or a million other reasons.  Often at times unable to find anyone else to BLAME you look for shortcomings within yourself on which to lay the BLAME.  

When my impact on your life fully is considered in your every thought and action, when you are mindful of my awesome power, when you nurture and groom me for positive use in your life, I can become more contagious than the most prolific disease ever witnessed by man.  My influence will spread to every person you come in contact with. Groomed and nurtured in a positive manner there will be no person or obstacle that can stand in the way of my success or fail to be impacted for the better.  'I Am Your Attitude'

Heaven and Hell

Once a samurai came to Dzen Master Hakuin and asked: “Where is a paradise? Where is a hell? And where are the gate of heaven and hell?Samurai knew only two things: life and death. He did not have any philosophy, he just wanted to know where the gate to escape hell and go to heaven. And Hakuin answered so that the warrior could understand.  “Who are you?” – Hakuin asked.  “I’m the leader of samurai” – the warrior replied – “and the Emperor pays a tribute to me.” Hakuin laughed and said: “Are you really the leader of samurais? You look like some poor raga-muffin!” Samurai’s pride was hurt . He forgot why he had come for, whipped out his sword and was going to kill Hakuin .  And Hakuin laughed again and said: “This is the gate of hell. With a sword, being in anger , with your ego you will open it.” Samurai realized that idea, calmed dawn and sheathed his sword. And Hakuin continued: “And here you open the gate of heaven.”

Heaven and hell are in you. And the gates are in you. If you are not conscious, this is the gate of hell. If you are vigilant and conscious, this is the gate of heaven. But people continue to think that heaven and hell are somewhere outside. Heaven and hell are not after life, they are here and now. And the gates are always open. At any moment you make your choice between heaven and hell.

Perseverance

Once upon a time a certain tradesman was leading a caravan to another country to sell his goods. Along the way they came to the edge of a severe hot-sand desert. They asked about, and found that during the day time the sun heats up the fine sand until it's as hot as charcoal, so no one can walk on it - not even bullocks or camels! So the caravan leader hired a desert guide, one who could follow the stars, so they could travel only at night when the sand cools down. They began the dangerous night time journey across the desert. A couple of nights later, after eating their evening meal, and waiting for the sand to cool, they started out again. Later that night the desert guide, who was driving the first cart, saw from the stars that they were getting close to the other side of the desert. He had also overeaten, so that when he relaxed, he dozed off to sleep. Then the bullocks who, of course, couldn't tell directions by reading the stars, gradually turned to the side and went in a big wide circle until they ended up at the same place they had started from!

 By then it was morning, and the people realized they were back at the same spot they'd camped at the day before. They lost heart and began to cry about their condition. Since the desert crossing was supposed to be over by now, they had no more water and were afraid they would die of thirst. They even began to blame the caravan leader and the desert guide - "We can do nothing without water!", they complained. Then the tradesman thought to himself, "If I lose courage now, in the middle of this disastrous situation, my leadership has no meaning. If I fall to weeping and regretting this misfortune, and do nothing, all these goods and bullocks and even the lives of the people, including myself, may be lost. I must be energetic and face the situation!" So he began walking back and forth, trying to think out a plan to save them all.

 Remaining alert, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small clump of grass. He thought, "Without water, no plant could live in this desert." So he called over the most energetic of his fellow travelers and asked them to dig up the ground on that very spot. They dug and dug, and after a while they got down to a large stone. Seeing it they stopped, and began to blame the leader again, saying "This effort is useless. We're just wasting our time!" But the tradesman replied, "No no, my friends, if we give up the effort we will all be ruined and our poor animals will die - let us be encouraged!" As he said this, he got down into the hole, put his ear to the stone, and heard the sound of flowing water. Immediately, he called over a boy who had been digging and said, "If you give up, we will all perish - so take this heavy hammer and strike the rock." The boy lifted the hammer over his head and hit the rock as hard as he could - and he himself was the most surprised when the rock spilt in two and a mighty flow of water gushed out from under it! Suddenly, all the people were overjoyed. They drank and bathed and washed the animals and cooked their food and ate.

Be yourself...

Once upon a time there was a painter who had just completed his course under a great master. This young artist decided to assess his skills to give his best stroke on the canvas. He took 3 days and painted beautiful scenery. Based on his masters advice he decided to display it on a busy street-square of the small town he was resident of. He wanted people's opinion about his caliber and painting skills. He put his creation at a busy street-crossing with a board below the painting which read-"Gentlemen, I have painted this piece. Since I'm new to this profession I might have committed some mistakes, please put a cross wherever you spot a mistake in the painting… When he came back in the evening to collect his painting he was completely shattered to see that whole canvas was filled with cross marks and some people had even written their comments on the painting. Disheartened and heartbroken he ran to his masters place and burst into tears. Sobbing inconsolably he told his master about what happened and showed the pathetic state of his creation which was filled with marks everywhere. Such was the state of the painting that even the colors were not visible, one could only see cross marks and correction remarks. This young artist felt rejected and was disheartened.

The Master smiled and suggested "My Son, I will prove that you are a great artist and have learnt to paint flawlessly. Just paint exactly similar painting once again and give it to me.  Will you do that for your master?.."  Young artist reluctantly agreed and two days later he presented an exact replica of his earlier painting to his master. The Master took that gracefully and smiled. They reached the same street-square and displayed the same painting exactly where the artist had placed it a few days earlier. Now master took out another board which read -"Gentlemen, I have painted this piece. Since I'm new to this profession I might have committed some mistakes in my strokes - I have put a box with colors and brushes just below. Please do me a favor. If you see a mistake, kindly pick up the brush and correct it." The Master and the disciple walked back home. They both visited the place same evening. The Young painter was surprised to see that there was not a single correction done so far. But master wasn't satisfied and he told his disciple "May be one day was too little a time for people to come up with ideas and take out time out of their busy schedules to correct it so let us keep it here for one more day. Tomorrow is Sunday, so we can expect some corrections coming in." Next day again they visited and found painting remained untouched.. They kept the painting there for a week and still no correction came in! The Master finally said,” It just takes a stroke of a paint brush to make a cross mark in a painting but a great deal of knowledge to evaluate and correct it “ " If you take the world to be your judge, you would always be disappointed. People tend to make judgments, pass remarks on others without any authenticity and seriousness. Be your own judge and trade your virtues with the world for an equitable and fair consideration. You can be assured that you would never be disappointed with yourself or your work."

Anger

One day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. “You have no right teaching others,” he shouted. “You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake.” Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man “Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?” The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, “It would belong to me, because I bought the gift.” The Buddha smiled and said, “That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you.

When you have to make choices

A man got lost in desert and has exhausted all the water that he had carried . He knew if he didn’t get some water he would certainly die. Although completely exhausted , the man didn’t give up hope. He kept walking for some sign of good fortune. Suddenly he saw a small hut at some distance. “could it be a mirage ?” he thought. “May be a hallucination” but with no other option left he moved closer only to realize that the hut was real. Gathering the last bit of energy he dragged his body inside the hut hoping he could find some water. The hut was empty and seemed like it had been abandoned long time ago. His heart skipped a beat, when he saw what was in the hut. A hand Pump! Water finally! He was overjoyed. He began working on water pump but no water came up. He tried harder and harder but no water. Finally after putting every bit of energy he gave up out of exhaustion and sat down thinking “maybe I am destined to die out of thirst”. And then the second lifeline , he noticed a bottle in the corner of room. It was filled with water and corked up. He opened the bottle and when he was about to drink it , he noticed a piece of paper. The handwritten note said “use this water to start the pump , don’t forget to fill the bottle when you are done”. He was now in a dilemma to follow the instruction or to ignore and drink it. If the instruction was wrong he would be throwing away last amount water he would ever see. 

Finally with a leap of faith he used the water to start the pump and he could see fresh cold water coming out and he quenched his thirst. He also found a map and a pencil in the room. The map showed he was far away from civilization , but atleast now he knew where he was and in which direction to go next. He filled up his flask for the journey ahead . And as per instruction on note he filled the bottle and put a cork. Before leaving he also added an extra line in the instruction ‘believe me, it works!’. 

Most of us may not be confronted with this situation where the choice made decide whether we live or die. Yet we have our own journeys to take and our own choices to make. If the choice we make goes our way , fantastic , we can inspire people by telling them ‘believe me it works!’ and if it doesn’t go our way we can share our experiences , our mistakes, realizations and empower people to make their right choices.

The Copper Coin

Once, Gandhi was on an expedition to collect funds from various cities and villages for an organization to help the poor. He went to several places and finally reached Orissa. He organized a meeting in Orissa. There, he gave a speech to the public, requesting them to give him funds for the organization. At the end of his speech, a very old woman with bent back, tattered clothing, white hair, and shrunken skin got up. She requested the volunteers to allow her to reach Gandhi. However, the volunteers stopped her. She did not give up. She fought with them and reached Gandhi. She touched the feet of Gandhi. Then she took out a copper coin kept in the folds of her saree and placed it at his feet. Then the old lady left the stage.

Gandhi very carefully took the coin. The treasurer of the organization for the poor asked Gandhi for the copper coin, but he refused to give it. “I keep cheques worth thousands of rupees,” said the treasurer. “Yet you won’t trust me with a copper coin!”  Gandhi said, “This copper coin is worth much more than those thousands. If a man has several lakhs and he gives away a thousand or two, it doesn’t mean much.” Yes, the coin might have been the only thing that the poor old woman possessed. She did not even have proper clothes and could not afford good food. Still she gave everything she had. That is why Gandhi regarded the coin as very precious.

Offering help when we have nothing or very little makes it more valuable.

Its in your hands

High on a hilltop overlooking the beautiful city of Venice, Italy, there lived an old man who was a genius. Legend had it he could answer any question anyone might ask of him. Two of the local boys figured they could fool the old man, so they caught a small bird and headed for his residence. 

One of the boys held the little bird in his hands and asked the old man if the bird was dead or alive. Without hesitation the old man said, ” Son, if I say to you that the bird is alive, you will close your hands and crush him to death. If I say the bird is dead, you will open your hands and he will fly away. You see, son, in your hands you hold the power of life and death.” 

In your hands you hold the seeds of failure or the potential for greatness. Your hands are capable but they must be used and for the right things to reap the rewards you are capable of attaining.

Cup or Coffee...

A group of computer engineers, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups, some ordinary looking, some expensive, some exquisite. He told them to help themselves to hot coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee in their hands, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap looking ones. "While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and worse, you were eyeing each other's cups."

"Now if life is coffee , then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it. " So the moral of this story is: don't let the cups drive you, enjoy the coffee instead.

Difficulties...

A man was an avid Gardener.. He saw a small butterfly laying few eggs in one of the pots in his garden. Since that day he kept looking at the eggs with ever growing curiosity and eagerness. One day, an egg started to move and shake a little. He was excited to see a new life coming up right in front of his eyes. He spent hours watching the egg. The egg started to expand and develop cracks. A tiny head and antennae started to come out slowly. The man's excitement knew no bounds and he got his magnifying glasses  and sat to watch the life and body of a pupa coming out. He saw the struggle of the tender pupa and couldn't resist his urge to help. He went and got a tender forceps to help the egg break, a nip here and there, to help the struggling life. The pupa was out and the man felt ecstatic! 

Though he waited each day for the pupa to grow and fly like a beautiful butterfly, that never happened .The larvae pupa had an over-sized head and kept crawling along in the pot for 4 weeks and then died! Depressed, the man went to his botanist friend and asked for the reason. The botanist told him that ,the struggle to break out of the egg helps the larvae to send blood to its wings and the  push helps the head to remain small so that the tender wings can support it through its 4 weeks of life cycle. In his eagerness to help the pupa ,the man had destroyed a beautiful life! 

Struggle helps us all in our lives. It is that effort we put in to overcome difficulties in life, that actually builds us .

Always be Positive

Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants. The race began… Honestly, No one in crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. crowd yelled statements such as: “Oh, WAY too difficult!!!” “They will NEVER make it to the top.” “Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!”

 The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one. Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher. The crowd continued to yell, “It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!” More tiny frogs got tired and gave up. But ONE continued higher and higher and higher. This one wouldn’t give up! At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top! Then all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?

A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal? It turned out. That the winner was DEAF!!!

Never get influenced by your surroundings  because at times they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you — the ones you have in your heart! Always think of the power words have. Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!

Therefore, ALWAYS BE POSITIVE!

Secret of Happiness

Once a large group of people were attending a seminar.

Suddenly the speaker stopped and started giving each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write his/her name on it using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room. Now these delegates were let in that room and asked to find the balloon which had their name written, within five minutes.

Everyone was frantically searching for their name, pushing, colliding with each other, and there was utter chaos. At the end of 5 minutes, no one could find their own balloon. Now each one was asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloon.

The speaker began: This is exactly happening in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is. Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness, you will get your own happiness

What really matters !!!

A vacationing American businessman standing on the pier of a quaint coastal fishing village in southern Mexico watched ,as a small boat with just one young Mexican fisherman pulled into the dock. Inside the small boat were several large tuna. Enjoying the warmth of the early afternoon sun, the American complimented to the Mexican on the quality of his fish.

"How long did it take you to catch them?" the American casually asked. "Oh, a few hours," the Mexican fisherman replied. "Why don't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" the American businessman then asked. The Mexican warmly replied, "With this I have more than enough to meet my family's needs." The businessman then became serious, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

Responding with a smile, the Mexican fisherman answered, "I sleep late, play with my children, watch ball games, and take siesta with my wife. Sometimes in the evenings I take a stroll into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, sing a few songs..."

The American businessman impatiently interrupted, "Look, I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you to be more profitable. You can start by fishing several hours longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra money, you can buy a bigger boat. With the additional income that larger boat will bring, before long you can buy a second boat, then a third one, and so on, until you have an entire fleet of fishing boats."

Proud of his own sharp thinking, he excitedly elaborated a grand scheme which could bring even bigger profits, "Then, instead of selling your catch to a middleman you'll be able to sell your fish directly to the processor, or even open your own cannery. Eventually, you could control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this tiny coastal village and move to Mexico City, or possibly even Los Angeles or New York City, where you could even further expand your enterprise."

Having never thought of such things, the Mexican fisherman asked, "But how long will all this take?" After a rapid mental calculation, the Harvard MBA pronounced, "Probably about 15-20 years, maybe less if you work really hard."

"And then what, senior?" asked the fisherman. "Why, that's the best part!" answered the businessman with a laugh. "When the time is right, you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions." "Millions? Really? What would I do with it all?" asked the young fisherman in disbelief.

The businessman boasted, "Then you could happily retire with all the money you've made. You could move to a quaint coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, play with your grandchildren, watch ball games, and take siesta with your wife. You could stroll to the village in the evenings where you could play the guitar and sing with your friends all you want."

Know what really matters in life, and you may find that it is already much closer than you think.

The salt vendor and the donkey

There was a salt vendor in a village. He used to buy salt from a nearby town. He had a donkey to carry this salt load. There were many streams to be crossed to reach the town. One day, the vendor was returning after his purchase. The donkey was loaded with salt bags. While they were crossing a stream, accidentally the donkey slipped and fell into the stream. A lot of salt got dissolved in the water. When the donkey got up the load became very light. From that day, whenever the vendor returned from town after the salt purchase, the donkey began to tumble half-way across one stream or the other. The vendor became suspicious.

Once the vendor purchased bales of cotton and loaded his donkey with bales of cotton. The donkey felt the load to be unusually light. He thought "Today, I am going to tumble and this load is going to become much lighter". On their way home, as usual, the donkey tumbled and fell into a stream. But alas! When the donkey tried to get up, the load pulled the donkey down. The cotton had absorbed water and become heavier. The vendor had to beat the  donkey for it to get up and walk. From then on, the donkey never tumbled while crossing streams.

More often, it’s when we try to shy away from things that it backfires. It’s always better to face things as it is!

The Touchstone

When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a few coppers. The book wasn’t very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone”! The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.

So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold – throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea.

The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.

So it is with opportunity. Unless we are vigilant, it’s easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand and it’s just as easy to throw it away. May you be vigilant enough to recognize the right opportunity for you!

Challenges

Once, a Shah was riding in his palanquin through the town, looking through the window at the scurrying people. Suddenly, he saw a lonely dervish sitting in the middle of the crowd, who was smiling and looking happy about something. The dervish was dressed poorly, and except the saucer for hand-outs he had nothing else besides him. The shah rode past him and soon forgot what he saw.

After a few days, the Shah had to go the same way again, where he saw the same dervish again, completely happy, dozing with blissfully closed eyes. The next day, Shah chose the same way on purpose, to see if the dervish will be in his place and again the image was the same. Intrigued, the Shah was going the same way almost every day and every time he found the dervish in the same spirit.

Finally, unable to stand it anymore, the Shah came out from the palanquin and addressed the imperturbable dervish with these words, “Why are you always smiling? Almost every day I see you here and it seems that you are absolutely happy.”

“Exactly, my master.” said the dervish with a smile.

Shah was surprised and asked, “Why are you happy? Do you have any money?”

“I don’t have anything, my master. Maybe during the day a little bit will fall in for food.”

“Do you have a home or a family?”

“Neither this and nor that. I wander the world as the wind.”

“Maybe then, you have good heath?”

“Absolutely not, my master, from the cold of the night my bones ache often and almost all of my teeth have fallen out.”

“What makes you so happy then? Tell me. Maybe your recipe for happiness will be useful to me. I have everything, but I’m unhappy.”

“God never sends more challenges for one person than he can handle. And burdens a person only with those circumstances, which at that moment, are most useful for his development. I accept that the best thing for me now is what I am, where I am and what is happening with me. I accept it with gratitude and a smile, if necessary with resistance and patience, and if possible, I try to understand what God is trying to say to me with it and in which direction should I move with my development. The realization of it doesn’t make me absolutely happy, but I have a clear horizon opening in front of me, free from the rainy curtains and filled with the sunny light of awareness.”

Don’t let challenges pull you down, every challenge in life is an opportunity to bounce back higher!

Useful financial tips

Some very important financial tips that everyone should know ....

1. Avoid buying property on loans as it eats most of your earnings unless you have a clear plan for its repayment. It's important to monitor cash flow. Though, t he house will be your asset, your liability will be much more.

2. Start a SIP at a very young age. Try to save atleast 15–25 % of your earnings.

3. Avoid buying a car unless you use it everyday.

4. Do not let this sentence scare you. “Mutual fund investment are subject to market risk. Please read the offer documents carefully before investing”. Most people avoid investing in mutual funds just because of this one warning. Yes, there is a market risk, but look at the history and growth of mutual funds.

5. Try having a simple wedding.

6. Atleast 20% of your wealth should be liquid so you can utilize it when necessary.

7. Considering inflation, you are actually losing money if it is in savings bank account. Do not keep huge money in savings bank account.

8. If you invest in stocks, pay due attention.

9. If you invest in stocks have a separate account for delivery investment and Intraday investment. It is easy to monitor this way and also makes tax calculation easy

10. Do not have a belief that property and car make you rich. Its what you save and invest, that is important.

11. Never invest in insurance for returns. Insurance is not an investment option. It is a risk management tool.

12. Never use credit cards for lavish spending. Use credit cards intelligently and for needs not for wants.

13. Cancel all credit cards before you die. Or inform family about all your accounts, credit cards, loans and saving now itself.  Even a small residue will cost your family much.

14. Invest on yourself and then on other investments.

15. Always try to balance your earnings with your savings first, then on  spending and loans. Never take unnecessary loans. Always have reserve and utilise them and unless no other go never take loan.

16. Always have a plan for future events on your career, life, spending and finance.

17. Always have a reserve on your savings for contingency and urgent situations.

18. Your personal life and health are the most important investment. Do have a regular health check and do healthy workout every day. Stay healthy and live happily.

19. Always remember death can come anytime.....so please do buy adequate term Insurance if you have dependents.

20. Prepare a Will. It may avoid unnecessary fights after you die.

Patience

Once, a king announced that anyone who wanted the post of personal assistant must meet him. Many people gathered in the palace. The king led them to a pond and said, "Whoever will fill this pond's water in this pot will be chosen for the post. But remember, there is a hole in the pot." So some people left without a single try. While some people tried for once and then said, "The king has already chosen someone else. Let's go." 

But one man kept filling the pot with pond water patiently. He filled the water in the pot from the pond and came out on the ground. But always within few moments, the water poured on the ground completely. He tried that uncountable numbers of times. At last the pond became empty. The man found a diamond ring in the empty pond and he gave it to the king. At this the king said, "This ring is a reward for your patience and hard work. You are fit for the job." 

No matter how much time you put in, patience is always rewarded.